The South Pacific Ocean that surrounds Vanuatu permeates the landscape and culture alike, carving channels of thousands of years of ancient knowledge still passed down to this day. According to a common Vanuatuan folk tale, the deity Qat sculpted humans from a tree and lifted the land scooped up from the seafloor to form every island and mold every hill, before covering the earth with lush and magnificent trees, tame animals, and fruit-bearing plants. But generations later, Qat’s bountiful resources are in jeopardy. A new tale is being told in rapid and dramatic fashion. As sea levels rise and storms intensify, the climate crisis is leaving Vanuatu’s communities struggling to stay afloat.
Tropical cyclones. Floods. Ocean acidification. Sea level rise. Together, the effects of climate change are threatening Vanuatu’s barrier reefs and hundreds of native species on both land and sea. The damage from climate change is coupled with the frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity that result from its precarious placement along the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, depleting natural resources that provide a secure standard of living through fisheries and coastal industries.
Willy Missack, technical advisor to the Vanuatu Climate Action Network, diagnoses the problem: “Vanuatu is ranked one of the riskiest countries on the Earth because of two things: One is that Vanuatu is located in the belt of cyclones, so with global warming [...] the cyclone seasons have shifted and become longer. Now, our cyclone season starts from November to April, which is not usual. Also, we are on the Ring of Fire, which [according to the] most recent World Risk Report, recorded 40,000 yearly earthquakes in Vanuatu.” Today, Vanuatu is still recovering from Cyclone Pam, which struck in 2015, one of the two most disastrous cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere since records have been kept.
This catastrophic storm ripped through approximately 17,000 buildings, razed 96% of food crops, and displaced approximately 65,000 people. The destruction caused by Cyclone Pam amounted to $450 million USD, nearly 64% of the country’s GDP. And the crisis hasn’t let up: Since then, Vanuatu has experienced the impact of 15 medium-to-high-intensity storms. In March 2023, Vanuatu was hit by two severely destructive Category 4 cyclones, with wind speeds of up to 251 km/hr and an extreme likelihood of catastrophic damage, less than five days apart. The twin tropical storms were followed by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake, together affecting over 80% of the population. The price tag of this dual disaster was approximately $50 million, a costly toll on a nation with a GDP of $1.06 billion USD.
Experiencing two severe cyclones within a week is highly unusual for any small island state. Normally, Vanuatu encounters an average of just two to three storms annually. Scientists estimate that this number is soon to change, as extreme weather is predicted to occur at an increasing frequency as a result of climate-induced sea-level rise and disruptions in weather patterns.
Within the next 80 years, Vanuatu could be confronted by more than six tropical cyclones every year. Cyclone- driven contamination of fresh groundwater is a major challenge in Vanuatu and throughout the Pacific. Strong winds bring seawater ashore, which seeps into fresh groundwater. As this process, known as salinization, escalates, islanders become increasingly dependent on rainfall for drinking water. But with many rainwater collection tanks unpurified and polluted by high concentrations of bacteria such as E. coli, more than two-thirds of Vanuatu’s households have unreliable access to safe drinking water. With diminishing water security, coastal residents are being forced off their ancestral lands, relocating to inland regions where clean drinking water is better maintained.
As sea levels continue to rise, cyclones are becoming more destructive, destroying and submerging homes and businesses and rendering coastal areas uninhabitable. Since 1993, Vanuatu’s sea level has risen by 6mm per year. Willy Missack worries about the cultural impact of crop and land loss, describing how when people move away from farmland, they also lose the livelihoods of past, present, and future generations. He explains this cultural loss through the example of the yam, a staple crop that has deep cultural significance: “The value of Indigenous crops are embedded in the culture [and when we lose farmland], people cannot do their marriage arrangement. People cannot do their birth celebration ritual for agriculture. People cannot even do peace ceremonies.” Missack links how non-economic loss leads to actual economic loss. As vital farmland is submerged and farmers are forced to move farther inland due to sea level rise, the yam’s supply and demand are both reduced; production decreases and villages unfamiliar with farming the crop may not see the yam’s value. New climate change-resilient ‘golden yams’ are currently under development.
The damage affects more than just the places of the living, with cemeteries desecrated by the rising water levels. After traveling to Pete Island, Missack described a disturbing scene: bones scattered all along the beach. In a moment’s time, Vanuatuans are witnessing their ancestors’ graves being swept into the ocean, fracturing their cultural identity. Building lives on their ancestral lands allows islanders to feel connected to their past. Despite the loss of their cemeteries, Vanuatuans still hold on to their native languages, passed down from previous generations. Known as the most linguistically diverse country in the world, Vanuatu has the highest number of indigenous languages spoken per capita, with over 130 different languages actively used across its 80 islands.
Most villages are extremely remote and separated by bodies of water, free of outside influence or economic necessity to assimilate more commonly spoken languages. But with the drowning of islands, many islanders have no choice but to relocate to the main island of Port Vila. This often means abandoning their native languages and transitioning to more commonly spoken languages in the capital, such as English, French, or Bislama. As a result, many community leaders struggle to convince their people to move further inland.
Siosiua Veikune, a member of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, discusses the importance of Pacific Island heritage and the deep connection that islanders are fortunate to have with their ancestral lands. Veikune describes how Pacific communities feel “tied down” to the environment and the sea, and how people are experiencing an identity crisis as the climate changes. “In the Pacific, you grow up being surrounded by culture and tradition because that aspect of our society is so ingrained into our environment that you just can't help it. So what do you do when the environment you grow up in just experiences loss? You have no other choice but to identify with nothing but that loss. And that's very depressing.”
So far, six villages have been relocated as rising sea levels erode Vanuatu’s coastline alongside centuries-old cultural practices. Despite all the challenges, there is a profound sense of hope and resilience in Vanuatu as communities are rallying together in a call for international climate justice. In March of this year, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution led by Vanuatu and co-sponsored by more than 130 nations, for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to review the legal consequences of climate harm caused by developed nations and issue an advisory opinion to address the crisis. Campaigning began three years ago by the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change on Vanuatu’s campus of the University of South Pacific. Vanuatu’s leadership was critical to creating momentum for other developing countries to join forces in this global advocacy movement.
The ICJ advisory statement is expected to clarify the legal obligations of countries to recognise climate change as well as the legal ramifications of causing significant damage to the climate and human rights of present and future generations. Siosiua Veikune explains that “the ICJ has invited all UN member states to participate in the next part of the proceedings. States can now provide their interpretations of the legal question.” This is crucial to building global pressure to limit high-emissions activities. Vanuatu is clear that it does not intend to sue other countries or to create new global obligations. Instead, they are seeking clarification and guidance on how current international agreements can be applied to reduce the effects of climate change on their own soil.
In 2011, Palau and the Marshall Islands conducted a similar campaign, but ultimately weren’t able to bring a resolution to the table. This time, however, Vanuatu gained the support of historically high-polluting nations like the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, becoming one of the first countries to successfully persuade the UN’s highest court to consider climate justice and impact accountability.
Although such an opinion is not legally binding, it carries weight on the global stage, putting pressure on the wealthiest nations most responsible for global emissions to acknowledge their impact. Willy Missack says that the ICJ opinion “provides the global communities a path for litigation.” The ICJ’s opinion would support the prioritisation of climate action in Vanuatu and across the Pacific, including through the management of financial support to recovery efforts in response to the suffered loss and damage caused by climate change, and in preparing the country for impacts to come. Global momentum for climate justice is growing.
At COP27 last year, the international community reached a historic agreement to establish the Loss and Damage Fund. This fund is designed to provide financial assistance to developing countries, including small island states, that are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, despite bearing little responsibility for it. The majority of Vanuatu’s communities are self- sufficient and emit only negligible amounts of the greenhouse gases that fuel climate change. In fact, Vanuatu is one of the lowest gas emitters in the world, producing only 0.0016% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The Loss and Damage Fund is of paramount importance to assist countries like Vanuatu on the frontlines of climate change.
Vanuatu has calculated its baseline financial needs to address the climate crisis at $177 million, not inclusive of cyclone relief or support for slow-onset events such as ocean acidification and sea-level rise. Vanuatu’s proposal for the Loss and Damage Fund is to compensate their residents and develop infrastructure to assist displaced populations relocate. Siosiua Veikune believes that a portion of the funds should be used for cultural preservation and capacity building to create more space to ease the transition for those being relocated. He explains that the Kioa 350 Declaration, a commitment from the civil society leaders across the Pacific to provide resources to the communities they represent, would make loss and damage funds more evenly distributed and accessible to grassroots communities. This, in turn, can level the playing field for all countries to address climate- related challenges.
Unless global greenhouse gas emissions are drastically reduced, the world is likely to witness the irreversible disappearance of Vanuatu, as it succumbs to rising sea levels and coastal erosion. Experts predict that by 2100, Vanuatu could be completely underwater. Progress has been made, but more can be done. Siosiua Veikune points out that “if we're not going to be consistent for the next three or four decades, it's not going to mean anything. It doesn't end at the end of this campaign, it doesn't end at the end of this negotiation. We have to remain consistent for the next 30 to 40 years in order to see the payoff.” Supporting the Loss and Damage Fund is a good place to start.
